D.E.M.O.N.S: GETTING SUMMONED WEEKLY ISN'T SO BAD

— Kat —

Things can change in an instant. Kat and crew weren’t wrong. Monsters were not the same as animals and could fall into predictable patterns if they were the right type. The issue was Nixilei and Green were not locals. They did not live in the area. Nothing about what had been learned about the Treekeeper was in any way wrong. Just that… a perhaps minor detail had been overlooked.

See, while it was true that remaining within range and avoiding the tentacles was somewhat safe. Trying to run was usually safer but the smarter ones would detect that. Thus, planning inside of the danger zone. In theory there wasn’t any major risks to it. The Treekeeper was not going to attack them while they were just standing around. That’s just in theory though. In practice it was mostly true… but there was one, tiny variable that they lack of knowledge, and perhaps slight panic didn’t properly account for.

It didn’t need to be them that triggered the trap.

It just so happened that as the discussion went on a Maned Frog hopped over towards the tree. It was simple follow its instincts, and had seen a large, seemingly ungraded tree. A great place to set up and hunt for other monsters. Why, it was a great idea to use it as a lure for other weaker specimens that could be contained by its tongue. It was, in many ways an amazing idea. A shame for this toad, and for the group, that something else had already gotten to it first. The frog landed heavily on one of the branches. It didn’t even notice that anything was wrong.

Kat blurred into motion, her tail hooking out to pull Green and Kress in close while Kat pulled in Gareth and moved herself between, everyone else, Nixilei and Lily included and the tentacle near where Gareth’s foot had once been. The weight slammed into Kat’s back, and only the fact she’d slightly dug her feet into the ground kept her in place. The ground cracked and cratered as the bones in her wings shattered.

Kat didn’t have long to push down the pain. She had to move herself over to the other side and allow another tentacle to slam into her. Kat took it on her back, but this time it wasn’t content with just flailing around. It had some idea of there being prey here now and it tried to wrap itself around her. Kat had to heave against the thing pushing it away from her… but multiple tentacles were coming after her now.

It was a problem of mass and leverage. As powerful as Kat was, she didn’t weigh all that much. Sure her demonic physique meant that she was especially dense for her height… but ‘dense for her height’ meant nothing in the face of a giant octopus-like monster that had singular limbs larger then the nearby tree-trunks. Unlike Kat, it’s weight was measured in TONNES and this meant she needed to struggle to fend them off.

If she didn’t have anyone to protect simple dispersing into water would keep her safe but that wasn’t the reality of the situation. Kat needed a plan and she need it fast. As three tentacles approached, two new and the original, Kat pulled out her fans readied herself, luckily they were all coming from the same direction.

Kat charged into them, taking the first on her shoulder and nearly being bowled over for her efforts. Barely managing to hold herself in place she managed to push the thing into the next tentacle and cut its momentum before jumping up to the third and final tentacle that was trying to pass over her head. Kat lashed out, slicing into it with her fans… and doing a whole lot of nothing.

Kat’s fans were, at most, perhaps thirty centimetres in radius and that was including the bits Kat needed to hold onto. The tentacle she was slicing into was much, much larger then that and while Kat sliced through a thick line of flesh… it was barely more than a pinprick when compared to the entire tentacle. She didn’t even cut hallway through the thing, and it this was just the radius. Nothing at all had been done about the length.

Which of course meant that it slammed into Kat with full force instead of being sliced in half, slapping her away from the group and into the ground, shattering the nearby dirt. Kat didn’t waste any time and was already picking herself back up. While she’d been knocked away Lily had raised up a ball of shadows around everyone and it had taken the initially impact and cracked instantly.

Kat’s eyes zeroed in on Lily in her Memphis form, blood leaking from her eyes, and shadow almost… faded. Like light was leaking through it in places. Her girlfriend couldn’t be expected to block too many of those. Luckily for Kat any damage she’d taken, including the earlier shattering of her wings had already been repaired.

As the was running in Green released an empowered shot off in the distance, bypassing the tentacles entirely. No she was aiming for the real prize. The beats eye was still exposed and watching this all play out. It had completely destroyed the frog after all and only needed one tentacle to feed its remains into the whole. The rest of its limbs could focus on other things. It meant that when the arrow was coming for it…

The Treekeeper needed to only move one of its free tentacles in place to stop the arrow. The tip shattered on contact, taking out a nearly fist size chunk of flesh… which wasn’t much of a wound at all to the beast. It didn’t even let out a roar. Simple adjusted itself in response to the attack, with more limbs moving to defend its centre while the four already nearby readied themselves for further attack.

“NEED A PLAN!” shouted Kat as she kicked off the ground, flipping to land feet first onto the tentacle that had been trying to crush her friends. It deformed under her boots… but the lack of bones made it hard to properly damage the damned thing as it was launched away. The Treekeeper was happy to just let its limb flop back and away to bleed off momentum.

Gareth slammed his shield into the ground as a field of stone pillars started to raise up around them. “Head for the edge!” insisted Gareth as he pointed off towards the other trees. “We might need to deal with the Blurs but it’s better then this! It probably won’t chase us!”

Lily was picked up by Nixilei and bundled under one arm, with the other holding her staff. Everyone else was ready for attacks as Kat watched for the next set of attacks. Already one of the tentacles was sweeping its way through the stone. Each impact did bleed off a bit of momentum but it wasn’t much.

Kat growled as she charged into it and slashed away, trying her best to cut a large cube of meat out of the thing… but all she really managed to do was score two long lines through the skin and muscle of the tentacle. At least it was enough to cause it to flinch backwards. Kat used the opening it slam into another approaching tentacle, not bothering to go for damage and instead kicking it back and away, while using that same momentum to launch herself at the follow up attack.

Kat tried to slam into it… but apparently the Treekeeper was getting aa bit too used to her attacks. Right at the last moment before Kat sliced at it, the tentacle flexed upwards and then slammed down on Kat, crushing her against the ground. Kat felt the air get driven from her lungs as she was buried a few metres into the dirt.

At the same time the rest of the crew were approaching the edge of the Treekeeper’s range. Annoyingly enough though, that was still within range of other trees. Blurs darted out from the two nearby trees even as Gareth moved to intercept as many as he could on his shield. Each Blur dug a deep grove in the metal, but eventually splattered themselves, unable to completely cut through the empowered metal.

The others weren’t idle either. Green was dancing around Nixilei and Kress, taking up the rear. She was stepping forward, baiting the Blur’s and then dashing out of the way before she could be clipped by their charge. It was a high risk strategy that was working for now and allowing Kress to cut up the few that got past her.

Kat meanwhile was trying to dig herself out of the ditch but instead of the tentacle above her giving away it was the compacted dirt underneath her that was crumbling. Quickly giving that up for a bad plan, Kat instead forced herself sideways and out from under the oily limb, soon able to launch herself back up into the air.

Two tentacles were going for her friends, their tips long past her but Kat wasn’t one to give up. This would be the last attack, the last thing they were in range for, for them at least. Kat darted towards them and slammed into the tentacles as best she could. Kat wrapped her arms around one and her tail around the other while slamming her feet into the ground, it broke as she was pushed back but it ate up too much of the tentacles momentum. Soon they changed tactics and crushed her back into the ground instead. The others should be free and clear…

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